Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The only other way to stop a trustee's sale under a deed of trust is for you to file an action in state court, and have the court issue an injunction prohibiting the sale. You would have to have a really good ground for stopping the trustee's sale. You don't provide any facts that justify stopping the sale, here.

I agree with Mr. Roach. One would file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the county where the property is. The suit must allege at least one cause of action that would present a basis for a judge to make a finding that substantial grounds existed for granting injunctive relief. Then, one would make an ex-parte appearance before the assigned judge (or other appropriate judge under local rules) and request a temporary restraining order. This worked for me in a situation where the loan being foreclosed was fraudulent because the borrower did not even own the property at the time the loan was made and the deed of trust recorded.

The TRO, if obtained, would then be served on the lender and the trustee, and thereafter any attempt to sell would be voidable as a contempt of court. However, a TRO of this kind has a lifespan of only about two weeks, when the parties to the suit must appear in court to argue whether the TRO should be allowed to expire or be turned into a preliminary injunction, good until the suit is tried and decided.

Whether grounds exist for a suit in the first place, and whether your case is strong enough to merit a TRO, is critical. A judge is unlikely to grant a TRO unless the applicant has a pretty good chance of prevailing on the merits of the lawsuit when it is tried. The TRO applicant must also show that harm which cannot adequately be compensated by money damages is likely to occur if the TRO isn't granted, but a foreclosure sale will generally be a sufficient threat of harm to meet this criterion.

Finally, a TRO will usually not be continued by way of a preliminary injunction without the requesting party posting a bond sufficient to compensate the other party for losses incurred if the plaintiff doesn't prevail on the merits of the suit. The bond (officially, an "undertaking") can sometimes be waived if the plaintiff cannot afford it.

Obtaining a TRO on short notice is a job for an experienced lawyer that can devote a fair amount of time to the case almost immediately. The rules are fairly complex and judges' expectations are fairly strict. Giving injunctive relief of any kind is discretionary with the judge.

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